


Traitor

by Child_OTKW



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (Not in the traditional sense), Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Galra Keith (Voltron), M/M, Making Out, Minor Character Death, No Aliens, Rival Agencies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 17:45:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9196598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Child_OTKW/pseuds/Child_OTKW
Summary: Keith rolled his eyes, even though the words drove a stake through him. "Oh please, switch agencies one time and suddenly you're the bad guy."Shiro lifted him by his shirt, only to slam him back against the floor. "'Switch agencies'?'Switch agencies'? You left us." He hissed, getting close to Keith's face. "You up and joined the enemy without a single explanation. You willingly traded away our secrets. You betrayed all of us. You betrayedme."It's been a year since Keith betrayed Voltron and joined Galra Industries. A run in with Shiro brings back some painful feelings, but is Keith really the traitor they think he is?





	

He tracked his target through the scope, never allowing her perfectly styled head of hair to escape his sight for even a moment. Idly, his finger tapped on the trigger as he waited for the perfect opportunity.

For a good shot he needed her to lean forward about two inches, so the marble pillar of the dining hall was not shielding her. She would eventually, all he had to do was wait.

_“Remember, patience yields focus.”_

_“Yeah, yeah, thanks for the advice Buddha.”_

This high up, the wind tugged playfully at his hair and snagged on his clothing. His legs were beginning to cramp and his shifted minutely to relieve the discomfort. He continued to observe the woman - some high class socialite that had pissed off the wrong people with her dirty deals - from his place on the adjacent hotel rooftop.

The music from his headphones crooned softly in his ears.

A figure shifted out of the corner of his field of vision, and he switched his gaze to study the new arrival, curious as to what was setting off his warning bells.

A smirk curled at the edges of his mouth.

_Oh, this day just got better._

With a hum, he watched as the man approached his target, an easy grin on his handsome face that effortlessly snared her attention. Unable to help himself, he took his time to appreciate the familiar figure, absently licking his bottom lip as he saw that the three-piece suit was doing nothing to hide the muscles that rippled beneath.

Likely intentional, given the way his target was focussed on the man.

He had changed since he had last seen him, almost a year ago. The small tuft of hair that he used to run his fingers through had gone white, and that scar across his nose was completely new. He was bigger too, broader in the shoulders and slimmer around the waist.

But his smile was still the same as he remembered - edged with a hint of danger that came from their profession - and he held himself with unfeigned confidence.

He knew precisely why Shiro was here, and while a part of him was twisted up at the sight of the older man after so long, a bigger part of him felt absolutely giddy over taking Shiro's target from him.

_Finders, keepers._

He watched the two converse, how the woman laughed too much and how Shiro positioned himself in just the right way to compliment his physique. It made his gut clench uncomfortably. 

With the scope, he saw the exact moment when Shiro spotted him through the window, how the man's eyes widened.

He pulled the trigger the moment the target leaned forward to whisper in Shiro's ear, then set to disassembling his weapon. He did not bother to check if the woman's brain was now splattered all over the nicely decorated table. He had never missed a shot before, and he knew he would not break his record now. 

Even if Shiro had seen him, he would have had no time to react and save her.

With efficiency borne from years of experience, he slid the individual rifle pieces back into their places and clicked the guitar case shut.

His handler would be waiting a little way away from this spot with their ride, and he had about five minutes before his window closed to get away.

He picked up his case, reaching up to tug his hair loose of its ponytail and headed for the stairs. It took him barely a minute to hit the ground floor, and waltz his way passed the reception desk and out the front doors of the hotel.

Nobody payed any attention to the young, shabbily dressed guitar-player. With his long hair, headphones and annoyed expression, he looked every part the struggling young artist. The bustling crowds rushed passed him, and he stepped forward and let himself get swept away.

The entrance to his assigned meeting place was drawing closer and closer, and he elbowed his way passed a few people to slip out and into the relative safety of the empty alleyway.

He dragged a hand through his hair, casting his violet eyes around for his pickup, when he heard a shift behind him.

He spun around, managing to deflect the knife coming at him, but was unable to dodge the punch to his jaw. He fell with the blow, dropping his case to free his hands, and caught himself before he slammed into the cold ground.

With a snarl, he swept his legs out and brought his attacker to the ground.

They grappled on the floor, but his opponent was larger than him, and pinned him easily. He grunted at the impact, but when he saw who was above him, he grinned sharply.

"Hey babe," he purred, "miss me?"

"Kogane." Shiro's face was stony, but his eyes glinted playfully. For just a few moments, they were transported back a year to when everything was fine and good.

Keith wriggled a little in place, huffing when Shiro moved with him and kept him trapped where he was. "Why so formal? The two of us are old friends, after all. Call me Keith."

_"Ah, hey there. My name's Takashi Shirogane. You're...Kogane right?"_

_"Yeah, but call me Keith."_

Shiro frowned lightly at him. "Old friends?" He scoffed, "Yeah, maybe we were, but not anymore. Why are you here?"

There was blood on his face, Keith realised with a thrill. Shiro must have ditched his outer jacket to be able to catch up with him without being stopped by the police, but he had missed a few splatters on his forehead.

"Same as you, I imagine. Blonde hair, about my height, you remember her right?" His eyes watched as a drop of bright red slid down Shiro's cheek, and a familiar heat pooled in his gut. "How's the gang doing these days anyway? Still kicking arse and taking names?"

That glimmer in Shiro's eyes died a swift death. His lips pursed, and for the first time he looked truly angry. "You don't have a right to ask about them. Not after what you did."

Keith rolled his eyes, even though the words drove a stake through him. "Oh please, switch agencies one time and suddenly you're the bad guy."

Shiro lifted him by his shirt, only to slam him back against the floor. "'Switch agencies'? _'Switch agencies'_? You left us." He hissed, getting close to Keith's face. "You up and joined the enemy without a single explanation. You willingly traded away our secrets. You betrayed all of us. You betrayed _me_."

Keith winced at the pressure, but bared his teeth at his - _friendcolleaguelover_ \- furiously. "It's your own damn fault for trusting me in the first place. You knew there was a mole, you _knew_ , but in your stupidity you didn't think to look at the most obvious choice."

His nails dug into his palms as his rage boiled. " _You_ let your emotions compromise you, and you paid the price. Don't put your failures on me, Shiro."

Even as he said the words, they tasted like ash in his mouth. It was only made worse because he could see something in Shiro's eyes break. Maybe it was the fragile hope that Keith had not betrayed them after all, that he could be brought back to Voltron.

Whatever it was, the loss of it brought something dark to Shiro's face.

Keith reigned in his own temper, pressing his lips together tightly and glaring up at the man. "Let me go, Shiro." There was a plea and a threat in his words. Because despite everything - _everything_ said and done between them - Keith could not bring himself to attack Shiro.

But he had a job to do, and if he had to, he would fight.

Shiro gazed down at him stoically, and it hurt Keith to realise that he could not read him. They used to work so well together, used to be able to tell what the other was thinking with just a glance. This was undeniable proof that they had grown so distant, that there was now a wall between them, and Keith hated it with every fibre of his being.

Finally, the grip on his shirt loosened, and Shiro moved back so he was no longer plastered against Keith's smaller form.

The position brought back too many memories, yet neither made an effort to pull away completely. Keith's hands twitched, but whether they wanted to shove Shiro off of him, or pull him closer he had no idea.

So, to not tempt fate, he sat up and pulled his legs free from where they lay between Shiro's thighs. He reached out and plucked his case from the filthy ground, and pushed himself to his feet.

Off to his left, a car flashed its lights.

Keith waved a hand at it, tilting his head to level Shiro with a measured look. The other man stood as well, not quite meeting his eyes.

"For what it's worth," he began, noting how the other male's body tensed at his voice. "not all of it was fake. Nothing to do with you. That..." he took a steadying breath. "That was all real." 

And it was. Keith had been Shiro’s one hundred percent. The others might think he had come to them as a traitor. But he had been on their side originally. It was just…things changed.

"So - _why_?" Shiro choked out, still refusing to look in his direction. "Why do it? Why not just stay with us - stay with me? If it was real, if you loved me, why?"

Keith glanced to the side, remembering.

_“Who the fuck are you?”_

_“Someone who needs your help.”_

"It was…just a job, Shiro. Sometimes even the best make mistakes." Shiro flinched at the insinuation that their relationship was a 'mistake'. But it was, on Keith's part, it was a horrible mistake.

He never should have let himself fall in love with the other, especially after he was confronted by his new employers.

_“I don’t understand.”_

_“You’re the only one we can trust to do this Keith. The only option we have.”_

_“You’re asking me to betray my friends. You’re asking me to give up everything for a bunch of people I have no loyalty to.”_

But like a fool, he thought he could handle it. He thought he could juggle the plotting and the relationships. He thought he could have the best of both worlds. Instead, he had gotten caught in his own web. And that had sucked, especially when everything came crashing down.

"The difference between you and me, was that I was capable of pushing aside what I wanted."

The car honked its horn, the sound sharp and irritating. Keith gestured at it angrily. His handler would be pissed, but he could wait a few more moments.

"I -" Keith bit his lip. "I'm sorry for hurting you Shiro, I really am. You're one of the few people I can say I care about."

And he was. _God_ , Keith was so sorry for doing what he did to Shiro. He had never meant to get in as deep as he had, to build that beautiful connection between them and give them both false hope for something that could never happen.

But he was not sorry for doing this job. Because this was more important than any feelings he might have developed. He could not apologise for doing something he knew was right.

It did not mean he did not feel like shit though.

"Stop." Shiro's eyes flickered over to him. "Just. Stop, Keith. I don't want to hear it. I can't trust anything you say anymore, so just save us both the trouble and go already."

Keith swallowed thickly. "I thought there was a bounty out on me? Aren't you going to try and capture me?"

Shiro snorted, soft and bitter. "There is, and no. Bringing you in would just make everything so much worse for everyone. So I suggest you leave before anyone else figures out you're here."

Keith closed his eyes, but nodded. He tightened his grip on his case and moved to leave. 

"Wait."

He turned, something not quite hope burning in his chest. Shiro stood watching him with something indescribable on his face.

The other approached him slowly, and it showed just how far Keith had fallen that he did not so much as twitch. He did not even flinch when Shiro's hands - one flesh and one metal, warm and cold, Voltron and Galra - came up to frame his face.

"What are you doing?" he murmured, afraid that if he spoke to loudly, it would break whatever this was.

"I hate you."

Keith swallowed thickly, not prepared for how utterly painful it was to hear that.

"I hate you so much for everything that you did, everything you destroyed. But I also care about you more than I can possibly comprehend. I should have seen you, should have helped you somehow. I don't know what they did to make you turn on us, but I can only blame myself for not stopping it in the first place."

"Shiro..." _It's not your fault. It's me. I'm the one that made the decision._

"Shut up. I let you slip through my fingers because I was too confused to do anything about it. And I have regretted that choice every day for a year."

The hands around his face held on tighter.

"I haven't given up on you yet Keith. I'll find out what's going on with you, and I'll bring you back to where you belong. But I can’t do it right now." Shiro leaned closer, and Keith's eyes slid shut. "If I'm going to let you walk away again, I'm going to do this first."

He knew it was coming. Knew it like he knew the sky was blue and the ground was solid. But it still sent sparks rushing through him when Shiro's lips crashed into his own.

Keith dropped the case without a thought, hands coming up to dig into Shiro's shoulders. With a groan, the other backed him into the wall, tongue slipping into Keith's mouth and finding all those spots that left him breathless.

Shiro's hand - the metal one - dropped to his side, pinning him to the brick wall and he ground their hips together. Keith's head snapped back and cracked against the wall as he gasped. "Fuck, _Shiro_ -"

"You taste just as good as I remember." And hearing Shiro's voice drop and become that deep, toe-curling rumble, had Keith hooking his long legs around the other's waist and pulling him closer, crushing their chests together. 

"Want to fuck you right here, against this wall until you’re a fucking mess. Fill you up until you can’t think straight and all you can do is moan like a fucking whore."

Keith bit his lip to keep the whine safely in his throat. He trembled because it had been so long since - he had not been with anyone since Shiro and God he had missed the feel of him. He craned his head back when Shiro went for his throat, latching onto the point under his jawline and sucking.

It had been a year, and Shiro still knew how to take him apart.

"Would you like that, baby? Want me to open you up here and make you feel good, just like I used to?"

" _Yes._ " Keith hissed, rolling his hips to meet each of Shiro frantic thrusts, lost in the heat building between them. 

Shiro’s hand ducked under his shirt, and his nail raked up Keith’s chest, leaving trails of goosebumps behind. Keith panted harshly, fist grasping Shiro’s hair and bringing him up for another bruising kiss.

He wanted this so fucking much. Wanted this moment to last forever so he could forget all his problems. Forget about Zarkon and Galra Industries. Forget about his mission and how every day he was risking his life. Forget that he had betrayed everyone he cared about on the word of a man he did not know and had no reason to trust.

“You make the sweetest sounds.” Shiro whispered against his lips, his pupils blown so wide only a thin strip of colour surrounded each of them. 

Keith grinned down at him, challenging. “I’m not moaning like a ‘fucking whore’ yet. Better try harder.”

Shiro smirked up at him.

"Fuck, I missed you," Keith confessed, closing his eyes, "I love you so much."

For one, heartbreaking second, Shiro paused, and Keith stopped breathing. They stayed like that, embraced and on the verge of something, for a long moment. 

Shiro withdrew from Keith's neck and looked up at him, eyes warm and sad and angry all at the same time. 

The car honked again, a long, drawn out noise that effectively shattered the air between them. 

Keith sighed softly, but obediently unlocked his legs from around Shiro's hips and dropped to the ground. He kept his eyes down, and waited quietly for Shiro to let go of him. 

It figured, that the instant he bared his soul, they were interrupted. Right now he just wanted to leave, before Shiro could laugh at him, or take his words and twist them into a dagger to hurt him like Keith had done to him last year.

He does not think he would survive if that happened.

He squirmed his way out of Shiro's hold, shoving the other back and grabbing his case, sprinting off to his ride before Shiro could react. Keith tossed his rifle inside and slammed the car door shut. Within the same breath, they were screeching away.

Next to him, Thace stared at him pointedly. "You alright?"

"'m fine."

"That looked serious."

"It's nothing."

"...That was Shirogane, wasn't it?"

Keith slapped his hand on the glovebox, turning his glare on his handler. "I said it's fine! For fucks' sake can you just _drive_? I don't need you acting like my fucking dad!"

Thace gave him the most unimpressed look he had ever received, but returned to his job of getting them the hell away from the kill site. Keith settled morosely into his seat, drawing one of his knees up and staring out the window silently.

The high he had gotten from his kill was officially gone now. His encounter with Shiro, as well as Thace's overbearing attitude had sullied his day completely. 

"We need to report his presence to Zarkon, you know that."

Keith picked at his nails, pressing his lips together in clear disagreement. "Do we? It's not like he did anything to jeopardise my mission."

" _Keith,_ " Thace briefly glanced at him, before returning his attention to the road before them. "you know as well as I do that if we lied, and Zarkon discovered Shirogane's involvement - which he _will_ , we both know it - everything we've been working for will fail."

"I know." Keith shifted in his place. "I just...if we tell Zarkon, what's to stop him from sending squads out after Shi - _them._ "

Thace sighed, "I have been your handler for a long time Keith, ever since you joined us, and I'd like to think that by this point we know each other quite well. I know you still hold feelings for them all, Shirogane especially. But you know there's nothing you can do about it. You're back with us, and you need to stay focussed so we can finish this."

"I know." Keith repeated.

"Do you? Because from what I saw back there, you are all too willing to throw away our entire plan for the sake of one man."

"Like you didn't do that once upon a time!" Keith swung his gaze back to the man beside him. "Don't give me that holier than thou bullshit Thace! You ditched your organisation years ago as well."

"Because of your mother." Thace snapped, "I left to keep the two of you safe from all of this. And you ended up being right in the thick of it regardless. I came back to protect you, and to get your help. But none of this will work if you keep running after your former teammates."

"They're only my former-anything because you dragged me into your stupid fight. If you had just left me alone none of this would have happened."

"You're helping countless people by doing this, Keith." Thace said, calming down remarkably quicker than his son. "We needed someone else on the inside of Galra Industries with me, and you had the skill and credentials necessary. Your defection had to be believable or Zarkon would have never accepted you."

"So you've told me."

Minutes passed in tense silence, both far too stubborn to relent. Eventually, Thace sighed in defeat. "You need to promise me that you will let them go."

Keith lowered his eyes and stared at his lap. He did not reply, but his silence was enough of a confirmation for Thace, for the man sighed again, this time in relief.

"Okay then?"

"Okay." Keith echoed blankly.

**Author's Note:**

> So, in case it wasn't clear enough in this shoddy one-shot, Keith was part of an agency called "Voltron" along with Shiro and the rest of the gang, until he was approached by Thace and some others, who convinced him to join them on a mission to take out Zarkon, the leader of Galra Industries. But to do so, Keith had to defect from Voltron, and break off his relationship with Shiro, betraying them all in the process. Shiro still has some doubts over Keith's actions, and wants to bring his bae home.


End file.
